Distribution

From learning about Short Film, the use of the internet is an extreme plus to the medium of short film and this is because it is extremely easy to access, just click and view. So I began by looking at the Virgin Media shorts, which is something Virgin Media have put together to students like myself and others can share there work with the world, however 'One Two Many' did not manage to meet the criteria, and in the end I never managed to find a shot film website of which I could upload this short, however it is on Vimeo and soon enough Youtube.

Audience

Now because short film is a mediaum simply intented for niche markets, saying that our film was intended for a mainstream audience between the age of 18-25 would be pointless, however to some extent this would have been our audience if were not a niche market. Usually in any type of film, the actors tend to reflect the type of audience of which it wishes to market itself towards, however this being a short film, reflecting from the actors, that aged audience are barely educated in the idea of short film. So I believe the type of audience this film would attract are those on short film courses, or budding directors in film school. If neither of those, it could be someone who is into there films and likes to watch something that the British tend to thrive in.

When the Year 12s watched 'One Two Many' and filled out the questionnaire, everyone of them stated that the camera, mise-en-scene and narrative in general kept them entertained throughout the piece.

Influences

To a certain extent it was understood that 'The Big Shave' by Martin Scorsese was an influence, which is why it is set in the toilet, and also why it shows vivid images of the toilet before the narrative is even set. There is also something else which Jordan showed me and it is called Roach, I think that had some effect on our title sequence. I had input which was used within the 'One Two Many' and that was the use of P.O.V shots because I felt it helped to engage the viewer and keep them interested. The constrast between the slow constant fluid shots, to the sudden P.O.V shots help to keep the viewer alert. The narrative, I believe was thought of because it is completely out of this world, but still something that could happen and come true, so to be able to show that tenstion within only 4 minutes has been a success.

Completed Short FIlm

Overall, looking back at the entire short film of 'One Two Many' I feel that it appears to be a very good polished short. From watching Short Films, it seems to be that the narrative of the films can be extremely outrageous or completely believable and to a certain extent 'One Two Many' fits this convention. It presents the idea of an over the top protective brother, Who tries so hard but, no matter how hard he tries to stop certain things from happening, it still remains out of he's control. That is what the protagonist 'Fish' presents. I think aesthetically, the visual style created by Jordan, is extremely eye catching, it manages to catch and engage its audience from start to finish, due to the way Jordan brought out the vibrant colours using Colour Correction in FCP. I think the music used within the film helps to keep its audience engaged and also helps to influence the fluidity of the narrative. I felt that the frame within the end credit wasn't needed, it didn't meet the conventions of the short, or did it meet the convention of shot films in general, I felt it lowered the sophistication of the piece, however like other big decisions within this project my opinion was simply overruled.

To be able to have critically analyzed my input within this project, I would have had to put a lot of work into this project. I felt within this project my technical skills of putting a well polished video project together were not fully utilised. I worked on character creation and a few mood boards and held the sound mic while shooting, however everything else from filming to editing was done by Jordan. Overall, if I were to have re-done this project I would have tried to involve myself more, however the short film is extremely good.

One Two Many - Filming.

For the shoot, I travelled to Brighton, which was where we had planned to produce 'One Two Many', I met up with Jordan and the actors in My Hotel, and held the mic for sound which Jordon did the filming. The length of the shoot was not long mainly bwcause we had good actors which had managed to look over the script and be prepard for the day ahead.

Wearing The Collar.

wearing the collar

I live with a lady and four cats
and some days we all get
along.

some days I have trouble with
one of the
cats.

other days I have trouble with
two of the
cats.

other days,
three.

some days I have trouble with
all four of the
cats

and the
lady:

ten eyes looking at me
as if I was a dog.

Above is a poem, which Alex and I decided to use as a inspiration for our short film, it would be a visual interpretation of the poem, and it would start with a ECU shot on the man telling the story, it then pans round to see the cats one by one, and at the end, it pans back round to see him as a dog.

Tambourine Man

Using a lyric from a song created by Bob Dylan, The Tambourine Man is a story which begins with someone crushing a tambourine, while shouting at his wife to clean up the house and be more productive. The tambourine is a symbol of sounds which are not there, because a tambourine is an instrument which creates a lot of noise and by breaking the tambourine at the start, the protagonist has transferred the noise which the tambourine would make, into his house.

Short Film Inspirations Session.

Throughout the past week we have been using specific stimuli to help provoke ideas to create story lines for short films. Using Art, News articles, Poetry and Images, we were asked to move from table to table and create a number of different story lines.

Prada & Prejudice

Prada & Prejudice is a short film by Tom Edmunds, the title is a play on words, from the novel by Jane Austin, Pride & Prejudice. It is 6 minutes long and to an extent it is interesting because of the acting. It presents the idea of being prejudice towards someone or type of people one first meeting, and for the lady in this film, it goes against her.

To view Prada & Prejudice click here.

BBC Film Network

The BBC Film Network, is a new and exciting innovative platform which has a number of achieve simply dedicated to showcasing different type of film, feature length and short film. It gives information on film networks and festivals, it also has partner sites which are updated regularly with new and exciting short films. To view site, click here.

Distribution

The distribution of Short Films are extremely limited, this is because, while fighting alongside mainstream cinema for audiences attention, the funds and expenses are very low, so to waste money on distributing films to an audience which do not appreciate them is pointless. This is why there are festivals and video portals which present many different short films at the viewer discretion. Due to not having such a wide audience, the need for synergy within short films exhibition is also extremely pointless, which is another reason as to why there is not a lot of money or profit to be made in the distribution of short film.

Some short films are placed on to compilation dvds which have a number of different short films and sold in stores, however to find an individual short film sold on its own is very unlucky, this is because of the need to distribute short films is low. Rubber Johnny, is currently on sale, on its own, this is because it is a music video for a band name Aphex Twin, this group have a following which would obviously want this on dvd. Therefore being a need for distribution of this one film, so it is being sold.

Tom Harper

Born January 7th 1980, Tom Harper is a writer/director that is currently directing episode of Misfits, however in the past his claim to fame was through a short film called "Beat". It is 6 Minutes long, and presents a story of a man going to see his mentor, in which he begins to see things and change his predications of poetry. After making this, Mr Harper, then went on to write and direct "Cubs" which during the time of its release was extremely influential.

Rubber Johnny

This is an experimental music video which is classed as a short film, because it has a narrative, with a character named on Johnny. This could be seen as a user of drugs 'tripping out' because within the short film we see the protagonist take drugs to some extent and from that point on, it shows some extreme visual footage which could influence an audience. This is a music video for the group Aphex Twin, which to some extent are a group with a large following, therefore it appeals to an audience that like Aphex Twin. It also captures the viewers interest from the start due to the characters disability.

The Berlin Horse

The Berlin Horse was one of the first experimental films to be presented to a niche audience, it was also one of the first we viewed as a class. It had mixed feedback, however I felt that it just gripped its viewer due to the extent of the music and visual which did not make sense. Malcolm LeGrice's Berlin Horse, plays with visual footage, by playing and rewind the same clip of a horse, it is interesting however after a while, you realise that it is an art form with no flowing narrative.

Technological Convergences

Currently a number of different media technologies have converged into one simple product, to make it easier for the user to have everything in one place, it makes accessing different platforms of media much easier.

Smart Phones

Apple iPhone - Mobile, iPod, Internet, Videos, Camera, Pictures and Messaging.

BlackBerry - Internet, Applications, Messenger, Calling, Games, Music, Bluetooth, Camera, Picture.

Gaming Consoles

Xbox 360 - Games, Internet, Social networking, Dvds, Music, Pictures

PS3 - Games, Internet, Dvds, Blu-ray, Music, Pictures

Nintendo Wii - Games, Internet.

Such advancements in technology allow short film to constantly think of way to expand its platform for viewing.

We are the Lambeth Boys

Here is an extract from a free cinema/protest documentary, it is called "We are the Lambeth Boys" and it presents working class people living their everyday life. When compared with today's standards it is just like a normal documentary, however when released in 1959 by Karl Reis, this documentary opened the flood gates for more experimental documentaries to date, like "The Family" which is currently being shown on channel four.

Free Cinema & Protest

Free cinema emerged during the 1950s within the rise of television, it was a documentary styled way of filming. Free Cinema was the general title given to a series of six programmes of short documentaries shown at the National Film Theatre in London between February 1956 and March 1959. They were the predecessors to British New Wave, using experimental styles to record sound on location and capture footage using 16mm cameras which meant the quality was extremely low. The crew were minimal if any, and the technological advancements were extremely limited, this left room for innovation and experimentation. Most documentaries presented working class people in there local surrounding, going through there day to day lives.

Wasp

Written and Directed by Andrea Arnold, Wasp tells a story of a struggling mother that will not let her children get in the way of seeing an ex-boyfriend. It is extremely emotive, it captures the viewers interesting from the moment it begins, this is because we view the film from a fly on the walls experience. As you can see from this extract, the camera is very slow and intimate, using the extreme close ups to express facial expressions and feelings. The shots are extremely voyeuristic which makes the viewer feel that it shouldn't be viewing such film. When you watch the film you see that her parenting get worse, however within this scene you can see that she has a split decision about going out, because she doesn't know what to do with her children.

Short Film Festivals

Rain Dance is a Short Film festival which is dedicated to showcasing new and exciting short films in innovative platforms.

Here is how one can submit their work to the Rain Dance Festival

"HOW TO SUBMIT

Withoutabox.com is a website dedicated to film festival submissions, and is the easiest and most effective way to submit your film to festivals. Here you can enter all of your film's information online and upload digital press kits that can easily be accessed by us. Just head to our WITHOUTABOX page and follow the simple instructions to complete your entry, then send your DVD screener to the address below. It's as simple as that."

There are multiple deadlines for the Rain Dance festival

DEADLINES

- 7 May 2010 - Early Deadline

- 4 June 2010 - Late Deadline

- 18 June 2010 - Final, Withoutabox-only deadline

Founded in 1992, Rain dance was created for film makers, by film makers. They launched year round training courses attended by Guy Ritchie and many others attend industry standard courses. In 1993, the birth of Rain Dance film festival was created, it helped to establish British Short film and shed light on up and coming talent from their training programs which had remarkable success.

Takes place form the 30^th of September to 11^th of October

Best UK

Best International feature

Best UK Debut

Best UK Microbudget

Best UK short

Best International film

Sundance

Sundance began in Salt Lake City in 1978 as the US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah. It was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen, John Earle and Cirina Hampton Catania.The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. the festival is the premier showcase for new work from American and international independent film makers. However not all films are taken from submission, the production team must have a following before entering their short film to Sundance film festival.

London Short Film Festival

In 2003 Philip Ilson and Kate Taylor organised the first Halloween Short Film Festival, five years on the festival became the London Short Film Festival. Currently the London Short Film Festival is constantly expanding to live music, more films, and hold the festival in high quality venues.

Here are the awards

VAUXHALL AUTEUR THEORY AWARD

Darryl’s Lo-Budget Film Award

Shooting People Comedy Award

Current TV Documentary Award

East End Film Festival Award for most Gorgeous Looking Film

Time Out Award for Best London Film

Sci-Fi London Award for Best Horror Film

Club Des Femmes Award

Beat Happening Award for Best Video with Music

Under The Influence Award for Best Midnight Movie

Wallflower Press Award for Best Experimental Film

There are also no spesific categories to enter your work into the London Short Film Festival.

Cubs

Cubs is a short film made in 2006 created by Tom Harper, this shortfilm, sheds light on gun crime, youth gangs, and friendships. The entire film is a metaphor/allegory for these group of kids. The name of the film "Cubs" automatically makes the viewer associate the film with young adults or children, which is true because we are presented with a number of young children trying to be accepted into what is thought of as a gang. However this initiation into this gang is one that then makes film a metaphor, because to be able to join the gang, one must kill a cub fox. This protrays an idea of circular karma, because the gang leader says to the protagonist "dont want you to get nick'd like you brother", meaning this brother had the same initiation and things turned out bad for him. By hunting a fox, it presents the idea as this gang being a pack of dogs, or wolves, a group that stays together which are extremely tight. At the end of the shortfilm the protagonist breaks the forth wall as if to say what have I done.

About a Girl

Directed by Brian Percival 'About Girl' was created in 2001 as a direct opposition to 'About a Boy'. It is a 9 minutes and 50 second long thought provoking piece. It tells a story of a young girl that is struggling with growing up in an environment which is not suited for raising children. She is forced to grow up too fast which the viewer can see by the constant on going dialogue from the protagnist. The film starts with a Britney Spears song being resighted by the protagnist, Britney Spears, suggests innocents and purity, however during the time of when this film was made, she was having the break down, so this could send a message to the audience that the protagnist is having a hard time. The constant breaks in continuaty tells the audience that something is not right, but this is one convention of short film, to be innovative. When she states "I'm not a kid" her father takes no notice, but because she says this as if to break the ice, it tells me that shes gone through something which would make her believe as to why she isn't a kid. Its obvious she finds her father a joke, because she speaks of him in a way which is extremely under-minding. As she sits out the pub on the bench, the camera slowly moves out which reveals all of the empty space around her, this connotes how lonely she feels. At 2:55 she is on the bus and says she is not that innocent, which also helps to identify reasons as to why you would believe her when she states she is not an kid. Even though she mocks her father, as the film carries on we see that she is extremely hung up on the "99" flake with the "hundreds and thosands" that her father bought her. The film then ends extremely abruptly, because when she throws the baby in the canal it shocks the viewing because it makes you wonder what she had to go through all alone.

Ideas related to Short Film

Anything under 50 minutes is/can be classed as a Short film, they tend to have little if any cast, but most importantly whenever they are created, they tend to encode, some type of thought provoking message. Short films, tend to tell a story through treating their audience as if they are intelligent, whereas mainstream cinema tends to appeal to a passive mass audience, which are drawn in by 're-worked' storylines, vast amounts of computer graphics and explosions, which are funded by huge budgets, however using smaller if not any budgets, Short Films tend to gain their audiences attention within the first few minutes by jumping straight into the narrative and manages to contain this attention.

Unlike Hollywood, short Films cater for the niche market, which are interested in new storylines, ideas and styles of work. They tend to be a lot more realistic and gritty, and just as real life is, can be based on anything.

People create short films because it allows for their work to be exhibited, technology has come so far that short films can be viewed on the internet now, with host sites like 'youtube' and 'vimio' short films now have a place where they can be, uploaded and viewed. Alongside such sites, there are sites dedicated to the exhibtion of just short films. Short films are also created because it is a way for someone to gain more experience within making films, it could also be a way of being found by a big film company. Short film equals less risk.

Video Activism

Video Activism came around during the up and coming fame of Short film. Created by protest groups they were made to shed light on something the spesific protest group were against. They are created in such a way that they manage to grasp the views interest and shock them, allowing for room to leave a provoking idea.

Click here to view a Video by the 'Fed Up' protest group on food.

This example of video activism, shows exactly how to turn its viewers/like minded people to see the real truths about American food ingredients. Here is a quote used by The 'Fed Up' organisation ("About 70% of the food we eat contains genetically modified ingredients and is not labeled. The biotechnology industry is spending $50 million a year to convince us that this technology is our only hope for feeding the world and saving the environment.") which works well to create a thought provoking idea, and when used alongside the video footage it manages to sway its audiences thoughts about these spesific products.

However this video is rather tame, when compared to this one posted by a Video Activist group.



and

Ballet Mecanique

This video was a short film of abstract images which she tell a short story that is completely ambiguous. This is just an idea of what Short film could look like. It reminds me of looking through a kaleidoscope which is rather interesting because it is hard to understand what the story is aobut.

Avant Garde

Avant Garde, being French for "A head of the crowd" also referred to as experimental film is a type of film created by film makers who wish to experiment with "new ideas, forms, techniques and expression". In some ways they could even be compared to being the short films eqivialent of French New Waves 'La Nouvelle Vague', this is by trying to be innovative in their ideas and experimental process of making a film. Avant Garde filming is seen as experimental, expressionistic art work which in some cases could be viewed in exhibitions. Political, sexual and other views were also the inspirations of some Avant Garde films. Laura Mulvey's writing and film making constantly reflected the American society of post WW2.




In 1929 artist Salvidor Dali and Luis Bunuel created a thought provoking set of images to create an experimental art form piece. Raising the profile for Arthouse, Avant Garde film making.

Salvidor Dali


Avant Garde films grew with the success of a film by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, called "The Meshes in The Afternoon" with its sucess in 1943, it established a model of what experimental cinema could do.
Meshes

History of Short Film

In 1895 the Lumiere brothers, recorded the first piece of visual footage, even thought it lacked sound and everything we as a 21st century society are used to, due to being created. Nonetheless, it was the birth of film as they knew it.

In this modern day and age, we are used to films being 120 minutes long, (a common feature length time) therefore making "Sortie D'lusine" by the Lumiere brothers, not only the first film in history, but the first short film too. The short film industry began to grow, within a number of years, short films being presented had become a common event within society, however before a few years had passed, the technological advancements had gone so far that techni-colour had been used within the film of "The Wizard of Oz" in its entirety. Once this huge advancement in technology had taken place, even thought Hollywood had been around and was already a booming industry, this film gave Hollywood a re-birth, sending its success sky high. Therefore putting the making and success of Short film into a steep decline.

Along with the success of Hollywood, cinemas grew extremely popular and due to the fact that films of a full feature length were created, people were less likely to pay money to see a short film with a possibility of having some artistic content which would obstruct the passive audiences mind. Cinemas contracted all films to be no longer than 100 minutes so that they could have two hour blocks, to get the people in, buy food, watch the film, toilets and leave. This process allowed for quick turn over.

Hollywood currently see short film as a cut price lab for experimentation and innovation. Whereas in the past, companies would force owners of short films to sell their short film idea to big companies, this was call Block Booking and eventually made illegal. Short films are also seen as a way of finding new and interesting filmmakers.

Throughout this struggle of trying to survive alongside a booming industry like Hollywood, Short film has survived and is currently starting to create its own industry and idea of film making. Short films are not only made by inspiring film directors, but also by, artists, protest groups, video activists and other people wishing to present their ideas or theories to the world.

Love Through a Magnifying Glass

Today I went on google and searched 'Short Films', I then found a link to a Shortfilm website set out rather like youtube. It allowed people to sign up and upload Shortfilms of any type. I chose this Shortfilm mainly because it was uploaded today and when watching the piece, I felt that the actual animation was rather emotive, it presented a constant flowing narrative which had a start middle and end, it also delved straight into the story, which all coinside with codes and conventions of shortfilm.

Future Shorts

“Future Shorts is one of the leading and most innovative short film labels.” Beginning in 2003, Future Shorts created a network that enabled filmakers to have their work displayed worldwide. Future Shorts are seen by film industry professionals, critics and actors alike as the cutting edge short film label. As well as distribution, Future Shorts also is a worldwide monthly film fest.

Films are submitted by their creator to the Future Shorts website, in hopes to be chosen and placed onto the shortlist for the monthly programmed screenings worldwide. There are 20 screening venues in the UK and in over 65 cities Internationally which take part in this innovative way of screening everyone’s work. By doing this, Future Shorts are entering a realm of presenting work worldwide, therefore allowing enhancing people’s understand an acknowledgment of short film.

“Future Shorts is involved in the organisation of cinematic events as a new way of exposing people to short films in different environments, combining a variety of creative ideas.”